Healing Relationships Institute was established in 2006 with the vision of bringing together multiple voices in search for meaning and purpose in life. The Institute is an initiative of Lama Choedak Rinpoche. It is not a specifically Buddhist organisation, but rather seeks to engage people in an environment which is beyond particular faiths and philosophical persuasions. This conference is the inaugural event of the Institute.

Conference Host: Lama Choedak Rinpoche

Lama Choedak Rinpoche is the founder and director of over a dozen Buddhist centres in Australia and New Zealand. He is an accomplished and inspiring teacher and has a special interest in making traditional Buddhist teachings accessible to people in the West. His teachings are lucid, practical and enjoyable, immediately appropriate for modern life. He is a highly acclaimed author, interpreter and translator of ancient texts. Rinpoche is married and the father of three children.

Conference Convenor: Genevieve Timmons

Genevieve is an international consultant offering a comprehensive range of services in philanthropy and grant-making. She is a Fellow of Leadership Victoria, and a Senior Fellow of the Johns Hopkins International Fellows in Philanthropy Program (USA). Genevieve is a Board Member of the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, the Sir Doug Nicholls Indigenous Leadership Fellowship Program, and the Victorian Government Advisory Council for the Community Support Fund.

Conference Manager: Suzanne Capell

Suzanne has run a successful management consultancy business for over 16 years offering management advisory services to a diverse range of clients in the corporate, arts and not-for-profit sectors.

Creative Development Team: Dr Peter Kent

Peter is a post-doctoral research fellow in the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences at Monash University. He has 20 years of clinical experience and has served for 10 years as a trustee for a philanthropic trust.

Creative Development Team: Jane Sargeant

Jane Sargeant is an organisational development consultant with her own business. She has provided coaching services and facilitation expertise for over 20 years to senior executives in the public, private and not for profit sectors. Jane has a strong interest in program design in the corporate sector.

Advisory Team

Joanna Baevski Philanthropist 
David Cooper & Michael Adams Infoxchange Australia
Ben Felden NGO Human Resources Consultant and Committee Bluegum Sangha Meditation Centre
Ellie Fossey Senior lecturer in Occupational Therapy, LaTrobe University
John Julian Social Worker
Frances Lamb Australian Volunteers International, Swaziland
Karen Mahlab and Team Pro Bono Australia
Professor Graham Meadows Professor of Adult Psychiatry, Monash University
Sally Polmear President, Jamchen Buddhist Centre, Melbourne
Stephen Ray Teacher & Workshop Facilitator, Padma Cahaya Reiki Tummo Victoria
Brian Walters SC Immediate past president of Liberty Victoria, Spokesperson for Free Speech Victoria.